AW's: We personally will not be observing kraut and frankfurters. Nobody has named me a "significant jerk" so far this week. I can totally get on board with No to PowerPoint. And, hooray for school counselors!

89 comments:

Liz, keep those fingers busy with knitting, colouring, baking, or journaling about all the things that make you chew your fingers.

AW: I'm using up my final week of vacation this week.

W: I still have the plague. I led worship yesterday but avoided folks before and after worship. I actually closed the service saying "This worship service was brought to you by non-drowsy cold medication, which is now wearing off. I hope you will understand if I head home immediately following the service." Then I gave the benediction and came home to bed.

AW (regarding my late breaking whining on last week's post): today's meeting was not, in fact, all day. 10-3 was scheduled and we finished around 2:15. And it was much better, mostly because I had very little responsibility.

Esperanza! So sorry about last week's bad meeting -- but yay, a better meeting today!

A segment of senators intends to speak for 24 hours about the Ed Sec nominee, and -- y'all, they are saying their things, and the ones I've popped in on are *also* quoting from constituent mail/email! They all have gotten a lot lot lot of mail. May one more senator come around.

W: Dammit. My senator has announced he's going to vote yes on DeV0s. Didn't he get my calls and emails? I've been thinking, and I'd love to hear Sue's input on this too: if I was being considered for a position at a congregation, and only 50% + 1 person voted for me to come, I would not go. I would withdraw my name and let them keep looking for the right person. Clearly, Ms. DeV0s doesn't share my philosophy (on this or much of anything else).

Yes, and their math skills.Had a lovely trip to St@ples tonight where I asked a supervisor for blank postcards so I could "tell some people what I think about things." They didn't have what I wanted, but he gave me a bunch of card stock for free, wouldn't accept any payment, and gave me advice on creating my own. Right now, it's the small moments. Thank you to the guy with the big metal rings and lots of tattoos who made my day.--NL

So many cluesticks for those who decide to expose everyone else to their fever! On the other hand, what an excellent experience at St@ples, NL!

Sue, I hope you're feeling better soon.

Old Skool Whine: the weather's supposed to take a turn for the terrible, JUST in time for our Wednesday trip to preschool. And then it's supposed to get nice again. I'm hemming and hawing about whether it'll be worth the hassle of getting into and out of the car seat, or whether it's easier to walk: it all depends on how horrible the weather is.

Betsy DeVos has been confirmed, with Pence making the tie-breaking vote. I am unsurprised. I'm hoping that the GOP pays a huge price from all this, but I am not optimistic about that. I am, however, utterly certain that kids with disabilities and poor kids are going to suffer real harm.

In self preservation, I've mostly stayed off the interwebs today. I went for a walk in the perfect weather, in the big park (rather than just in the neighborhood). I worked on making headboards for the Baboos' beds. I read a trashy book. Went for another walk with Sweet while Mini rode bikes with friends. I think this is called "a day off." I recommend it highly.

Kathy: the bill was introduced today, pretty shortly after DeVos was confirmed. It's only a sentence long (that the department will be terminated by the end of 2018). It has seven co-sponsors, but of course, the introduction of a bill doesn't make it a done deal. But: dear goodness.

Esperanza: that day off sounds perfect. (And you worked on headboards! Impressive.)

W: my head and my sinuses gave me trouble today. (I don't know which caused which, because both happen sometimes.) I thankfully have had relief thanks to cold medicine, but now I'm non-functional because of cold medicine. It was really challenging to pay bills online tonight.

Also whiiiiine: extreme cold warning again, which means that the wind chill is dipping below -40 again tonight. I'd better plug in the car (which means going outside tonight: whiiiiiiiiiiine), and drive the kiddo to school tomorrow.

esperanza, I was thinking the same thing - how does Dev0s go into the job knowing how many people have questioned her capacity to do the job??? I would never take a job on a 50+1 basis.

NL - I didn't think I could love St@ples more, but now I do. Yay for excellent employees and free stuff!!

Multiple cluesticks for showing up at practice with a fever.

I can't even with all the Things. The one about easing the laws surrounding abusive puppy and kitten mills is just too much for my brain. Is there some rich lobby group that runs illegal cruel animal businesses for big profit? Who did they pay? What the actual fireplace??? I knew this new administration was cruel, but they've reached beneath the bottom of the barrel with (essentially) kicking puppies.

Why do they hate people so much? Seriously, they must hate ordinary people to take away so much of what makes life better.

I have no useful comments on extreme cold, except y'all need to do a lot more prep in winter than most of us, to go out. And therefore, you are heroes. All I've got it, wow, it's a lot more rainy than the last few years...

Sue, the Posse is saddled for The Things. It's just that there are so many Things at the moment. The Posse is doing triage, and trying to keep a list.

Omg, Liz. Yes, some basic competence in local gov would be <<>> *really* helpful before trying a bigger league.

Hey, remember when I said that the cold medicine I took knocked me for a loop? The jittery effects didn't wear off for 12 hours. In related news, I slept at most for 2 hours last night, all after 5am.

Remind me that I can only do half doses of cold medicine now. (I became a super lightweight after not using anything like that for over two years -- between trying to get pregnant, being pregnant, and breastfeeding.)

And I'm seriously sorry about your weather. It's t-shirt and shorts weather here in Virginia at this present moment. Tonight we're going to get three inches of snow, and it's going to be in the teens tomorrow. Virginia, right? If you don't like the weather, wait a few minutes.

Yep, that's a dog allergy, all right. I use singulair for prevention of allergic responses, flo-nase for the nasal portion of the program, and a prevention med for lungs (Q-var). Also, hand washing all the time. And rescue inhaler for emergencies, but I try to avoid those.

So. We are running dog hospice now, because our girl has mets and not long to live. And by "we," I mean that as the person at home during the day, I am trying to do comfort care. The dog keeps wanting into my daughter's room, but she is currently distracted by cuddling on a towel under my desk. I've had a "this is not a dog room" rule forever, but it is currently hard to enforce. My eyes feel itchy. She has big sad eyes. Takin' my meds, and trying to suck it up.

Glad you're feeling better, Sue. Sorry about the cold. It was 88F here today, which would be lovely except the air conditioner in my car quit blowing any kind of air at all. So a very windy drive on the highway.

My newly discovered allergy is roses. I pruned them (probably too late, but oh well). Then I gathered up the pruned branches to put in the trash. Rash. All over my arms. Puffy and itchy. It passed in about 1/2 an hour, but I'll try to remember to be careful next time.

I need to tell someone about my political angst and thought y'all might be the right audience: Today I lost my cool and told one of my senator's staffers it was time to get their SH!& together about the racism and misogyny their party is endorsing. I wish I hadn't sworn at the poor guy, but O.M.G. In what world is shutting up EW reading CSK's letter about a nominee (then letting some dude read it) on the Senate floor okay?

Liz, the time without allergy meds before testing is such misery! Award-worthy whine, in my books.

Mix of AW and W: I had a follow-up appointment with my doctor, after my ultrasound (to track my fibroids). The good news was that they're continuing to shrink (I was surprised by that news, since I've been having a lot of pain), but the bad news is that I now have a large ovarian cyst. I have to go for another ultrasound in three months, but she concerned about whether it's going to rupture.

Yeah, my doctor said that the cyst is definitely the cause of my pain. She spent a lot of time determining exactly how much pain it's causing (and whether it was dull or sharp pain), and where the pain is. I'm finding that the surprise cyst + possible future medical stuff (possibly either rupture or surgical removal) is triggering some anxiety flashbacks for me, as it feels a bit too much like the sudden discovery of large and painful fibroids when I was pregnant, and facing all the risks. At least I don't have to worry about the safety of my child this time. But I realise that this is why I'm dealing with so much anxiety. (I was reading through the list of symptoms, and it definitely felt like "cysts act like fibroids, but they're volatile!")

In related news, I'm a bit grumpy with my reproductive system, and its tendency to make superfluous (and painful) things for me.

W: Little buddy Waylon with the neuroblastoma is having a hard time. Chemo is making him feel awful. White blood cell count is zero, so he's inpatient. Rapidly growing lesions in his brain are affecting his mood and energy level. His mom and dad are also having a rough time. I think I'm the main non-family emotional support for his dad. Prayers and good thoughts appreciated. I hate to be pessimistic, but things really don't look good.

I got news that the GAL requesting information from professional(s) I really hoped she would talk to, but wasn't sure she would, that I think will have particular insight into (and be very concerned about) something that other people don't seem to be taking as seriously as I wish they would. So really hoping that goes well.

And I'm stressing out a bit about how slowly some of my documentation-gathering is going, and the home visit happening next week.

(((p_k))) Sounds like things are promising.... remember, you are an awesome parent. Your home is much more awesome now that STBX is not there. That will reflect in the home visit. (and your daughters will appreciate what you did and be in awe of your strength once they are old enough to see the full picture/reflect on things). Hang in there!!! Love and hugs!

(((PK))) Thinking of you, and feeling cautiously optimistic for you because of the GAL's line of research. You've got this. You're an awesome mom, and life has gotten better since STBX no longer lives with you.

((( PK ))) That's great news, about the GAL! Yes, you need her to talk to more people in the know, who have concerns. Don't worry too much about the home visit -- they are not looking for perfection, just for the love and security that kids need. You've got this! xoxo

AW: Got a call out of the blue yesterday, from one of my SIL's closest caregivers. Usually, these calls are to say something is wrong, like she fell again -- this call, though, was to say she's doing well! They switched her to a room where they can keep a closer eye. She is not trying to walk alone any more, and the falls are way down. She's a lot calmer than she used to be. AND, she hasn't been talking about her first ex for several weeks -- a huge change, since she had been talking about him all day, every day. Yay!

W: have accomplished almost nothing today.W: Sweet scammed the school nurse into calling me to come get her because of a tummy ache (which she had complained of this morning, but she ate a normal breakfast, and I sent her off to school). She was bouncy and perky when I came to get her. After a little while at home, she pooped and her tummy ache was magically better. Hm.

Glad to hear good news from SIL, kathy a, and good news from the GAL, pk.

Also W, that I"m not sure has made the national news, major immigration raids in my city and nearby cities. Horribly mean and sneaky tactics (ie, stopping people in car pickup lines at elementary schools). I suppose just crying won't help matters, but it's what I want to do.

Esperanza, I'm mad as heck about these raids -- which aren't just in your town. And what the fireplace, taking moms who have committed no crimes away from their kids solves what? Cluesticks. MAJOR cluesticks.

So, something my beloved failed to mention before today is that one of his sister's ER visits got mis-billed, like to the wrong insurance, and now he is getting hounded for $10,000. I mean?? I have mentioned that it might be helpful to tell me about this kind of thing. At a minimum, so I know that's going on, but also, I can be useful looking up wtf to do next, you know?

W: my day was tiring. E's potty withholding issue has resurfaced. She just went through day 4 of no poo, in spite of meds and an incredibly high fibre diet. She also had a lot of temper tantrums, almost all of which were in the bathroom. Also, I had a dear friend over for supper, and E screamed for the better part of an hour, until we sent her to bed (in a pull up). I honestly don't care if she accidentally uses the pull up in her sleep. I can't handle another day like today. At least tomorrow is Saturday.

AW: after E fell asleep, I had a lovely visit with my friend (who is getting married this summer!).

W: Track is not going to be Mini's sport. She may just not be sporty. But she has all this energy. What to do? She loves to ride her bike, and I'm giving her lots of freedom with that, which she also loves. Other than that, she likes couch potato-ing.

AW: Baboo energy and ALL of my energy put to good use this afternoon, and both Baboos' rooms are clean and tidy. I told them I wouldn't be able to put on their new headboards unless their rooms were clean. That got them somewhat motivated. Sweet stayed pretty on task, but I had to help Mini a lot (her room was considerably messier).

Once E's body started cooperating with her, mine stopped. I have a suspicion that this cyst is going to end up needing medical intervention before the three month follow-up ultrasound: I had sharp pains in my right side this afternoon, to the point that I was shaking and had to rest. It wasn't bad enough that I needed to go to the ER or anything (I doubt that it ruptured), but something more is in there. (Perhaps ovary torsion, or something is being pinched.)

QWP, go see your doc. Not ER material, but tell the doc's office you need to see him/her asap -- like in the slots they keep for urgent things, because you are in pain. You know, it kind of sucks that they lay this ovarian cyst thing on you, tell you it might rupture, and then schedule something in 3 months. Cluesticks!

It's not exactly a cluesticks matter: she booked the three-month ultrasound as a "just in case nothing else happens in the meanwhile, but if you have any sharp pains, you come back here right away." And so you're right: I need to call in on Monday. I think she didn't take any immediate action because I said that I've only had some dull aching and crowding feelings.

I'm glad that it worked, but wow is that ever an award-worthy whine, p_k.

Like clockwork, the woman who gives dodgy medical advice had a doozy for me after church today: she guarantees that my cyst will go away if I spread crushed garlic all over my abdomen. (But not for too long, or else it will burn!) Mr. Q and I held it together pretty well and started laughing when we got to our car."Please don't do that," is the first thing he said. (I knew it was coming, but was morbidly curious about WHAT unsolicited medical advice she'd have for me.)

As a fan of garlic, that is a totally inappropriate use! What gets into people's heads, to say these things? But someone always will just blow your head off with some bizarre prescription. It's one way to narrow down who is worthy of confiding... xoxo

About Wednesday Whining

Wednesday Whining is a weekly blog with rotating hosts. Whines and Anti-Whines, both big and small, are welcome! Our purposes are mutual support and sharing a few laughs along the way.

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Wednesday Whine Hosts

March 21, 2018 - kathy a.

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FAQ

Q: When does Wednesday Whining appear?A: The Whiner's Ball commences no later than Tuesday, and ends when Awards are given (usually Thursday in theory, but definitely before Monday).

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